A Gruff Act To Follow (484)

[zeno48]

Oh.My.God.

Hey now, Zeno. What's wrong with losting a battle, even though you've just won a GREAT and difficult one?

Can't an Elite 4 member/leader lost a battle? Can't the best trainer in this funky world lost a battle? Can't Ash lost? Goshhh, things happen!

I.don't.get.you.people.who.always.complain.about.n onsense.things.

Really don't.

- Nozomi

You want me to tell you what is wrong! Well here I go. I wanted ash to win because I always expect it from a trainer of class that he is. When I watch a battle I tend for that person to give everything he has. Ash to me showed a poor display off battle skills and had to switch 3 pokemon to take down hyoutas dino pokemon. He was doing well with pikachu but he really messed up that's what the gym leader took advantage off and managed to stay calm and focus during the whole battle. Some cualities and aspects that ash by now should already have, but he does the same thing and does not realize his mistakes and manages to get caught in his own web, but now we are in shinou.
His accomplishments and triumphs led him there and I expected better from him. But no he loses and shinji for some reason managed to pull off a win. Okay so how does this happen. I mean all that hes gone through and all that he has learned really makes you think of this as pure rubbish. But really there is no excuse for this and now that I have seen ash lose I really have some doubts for him. But as someone said above that regice battle was a little cheap but to see this happen I mean come on.
Well overall the battle was okay and shinjixhikari seems to be my favorite paring. Does anyone know what shinji said to hikari by the way? Hikari's face priceless.

[Anonymous Trainer]

Before you literally decide to diss Satoshi, think about it, yeah I know it's disappointing and downright embarassing that Ash is doing so badly in Shinou so far, but since he's having a rough start now he may later on just start the ownage many fans are so anticipated to see. We can't just keep seeing him win so often, it would be boring, the same exact thing is happening to Shinji right now. Everyone is starting to get tired of him winning all the time.

[Flamez]

I can't believe Ash didn't win! Shinji won,but Ash didn't. Ash has already lost to Shinji several times, now proving he isn't as good as Shinji.

Naetoru defeated that Zugaidosu,which is great.But Pikachu lost against an Onix? It had already beaten won at the Pewter gym,now Pikachu is much more skilled,how can he lose?
After Naetoru and Pikachu got wiped out by Onix,why didn't Ash continue?Ash still has an Aipom left,that can finish it off with Focus Punch!

What the Hell are you talking about? Did you even see this episode, hell did you even bother to read any of the previous posts.

First of all Aipom was used first and it lost to Zugaidos, therefore Ash couldn't use him after Pikachu lost. Pikachu lost to Onix because it battled Zugaidos first and was weakened quite a bit and then it battled Onix. It put up a great fight against both of them. Its pretty stupid to assume that Pikachu will beat any Onix because it beat one at the pewter gym about 450 episodes ago and that was also due to the sprinklers turning on.

Ash has not lost to Shinji SEVERAL TIMES. They have battled twice and one was a draw while the second battle Shinji won (hikozaru vs. Naetoru). Ash had to lose that match not just because of disadvantage but because it was naetoru's first battle. Besides Hikozaru lost to Ash's aipom the first time they battled, the writer's weren't going to have Hikozaru lose twice in a row to Ash. If you saw that match you would've seen that Shinji was not pleased with his win cuz Ash put up a great fight and Shinji thought it would've ended sooner.

Sorry if Im sounding rude but you have to see the episode before making quick judgements.

[zeno48]

I feel sorry for shinji. He had to sit through that poor excuse of a battle only to waste his time. To bad pikachu got him to sit back down. If I was him I would have left right away. The way I saw it made me feel like, god is this kid for real!

[The Great Butler]

Heh.....not only is Shinji a creep, now he's a creep who dumps his unwanted Pokémon on unwitting targets. This is the kind of stuff that makes me happy the Ash/Shinji rivalry is getting so much attention---he's easily triple the rival Gary ever was, and the poor excuses for "rivals" at the end of Hoenn like Morrison didn't even come close.

I must say I was surprised by two things---first, when I saw the pics I thought Zugaidos would trample Ash on its own. Then I was surprised that my prediction of Zugaidos evolving into Rampard was wrong.

Next week's got me hopeful. Looks like it's going to be at least semi-TR based, and the "Big Charge of Ancient Pokémon" seems to be coming from some sort of botched TR scheme (see: the weird machine that releases Aerodactyl in the preview) I guess Hyota's gonna be in there saving the day, since he gets Rampard in the episode, even though you know Ash is always the one to get in the last strike.

One other thing: I LOVE how the Kurogane Gym is getting so much attention. What's it got, at least four episodes between those aired and slated to air? ("Hyota vs. Shinji," "Zugaidos vs. Pikachu," "Big Charge of Ancient Pokémon," "Return Battle! Vs. Rampard!!") I sure hope they continue developing the cities, gyms and Gym Leaders like this, beyond the old "Ash arrives in town, meets Gym Leader, blasts off TR, wins badge" formula.

[Flamez]

I feel sorry for shinji. He had to sit through that poor excuse of a battle only to waste his time. To bad pikachu got him to sit back down. If I was him I would have left right away. The way I saw it made me feel like, god is this kid for real!

Umm, why did you sit through the battle if it was so bad? You didn't have put yourself through the agonizing pain of watching a battle like that. It seems like your one of the people who watches the battles just to complain.

[squirtleboy12]

i couldnt belive the lost!it was ridiculos..i knew aipom could have done better and naetoru..pikachu try its best but it got beaten by onyx

[zeno48]

Umm, why did you sit through the battle if it was so bad? You didn't have put yourself through the agonizing pain of watching a battle like that. It seems like your one of the people who watches the battles just to complain.

I know that it's just that I was expecting more from this battle. But overall it was an okay episode. The reason I watched it was for shinji and hyouta. One to see shinjis expression during the match. Which by the way really entertained me and to watch this cool gym leader. Again I was expecting more but overall a great episode.

[S.Suikun]

Yeah, and it definately seems Zugaidosu is NOT succeptible to attacks on it's head, due to it ramming stuff alot.

Does that mean it's severely brain damaged like Mukubird?

But Pikachu lost against an Onix? It had already beaten won at the Pewter gym,now Pikachu is much more skilled,how can he lose?

Because Hyouta isn't stupid enough to put PLOT DEVICE SPRINKLERS in his gym.

One other thing: I LOVE how the Kurogane Gym is getting so much attention. What's it got, at least four episodes between those aired and slated to air? ("Hyota vs. Shinji," "Zugaidos vs. Pikachu," "Big Charge of Ancient Pokémon," "Return Battle! Vs. Rampard!!") I sure hope they continue developing the cities, gyms and Gym Leaders like this, beyond the old "Ash arrives in town, meets Gym Leader, blasts off TR, wins badge" formula.

As much as I'd like it to happen, it might be difficult to give each of the following gym cities as much attention if Ash isn't slated to lose, or if Shinji isn't battling also. (and I don't want Shinji's matches to be a recurring theme, as it'd be redundant and make Ash look like a stalker ala Scott) I suppose they could do things like involving Natane in Hakutai Mansion, though.

i couldnt belive the lost!it was ridiculos..i knew aipom could have done better and naetoru..pikachu try its best but it got beaten by onyx

"Onyx"...you taking lessons from 4Kids?

[CyberCubed]

The other Gyms probably won't get as much attention since Ash is going to beat a good chunk of them on his first try. Since Shinji probably won't be at all of them either, most of the other Gyms will get around 2 eps like they have since mid-Johto.

[Mythic Mist]

Great episode. I loved how Naetoru ducked under the flamethrower to avoid it the first time. Nice animation, and I also loved how Team Rocket has a somewhat decent plan this time That's their third good plan since Kotobuki, they're on a roll.

[Umi Mizuno]

Wow, Shinji actually watching Ash's battle even though Shinji says that he's a weakling. :P

The episode is pretty good, I just don't like the overuse of Zugaidos. Hyouta's gym convinces me that all other gyms and fillers will have pure fanservice.

Hikari trying to kill Shinji was rofl, he ****** her off twice, but the fact that Shinji never acknowledged her existance was funnier.

Not sure if anyone noticed, but wtf happend to Chansey's voice? It sounds deeper.

Meh, the animation in D/P isn't getting any better. I'd just wish they'd quit using the same ones over and higher the good old ones. :/

-DP 16 should have it's title changed to "Takeshi teaches Hikari!" most of the episode was pretty much Brock and Hikari.

[Pokemon Fan]

Did satoshi really do well in indigo plateau, win orange league, do well in the johto league and whirl cup, save the world a couple of times and win the hoenn league and battle frontier challenge? Did he really beat regice. Guess I must have mistaken him for someone else.

Well this is the Satoshi whose Pikachu rocked the whole gym with a burst of lightning and blew apart a arena field to send huge boulders crashing into its opponent.

And I concur with others that the defeat of Regice was poorly done. If nothing else at least you can comfort yourself knowing that Pikachu's attacks were all effective on Regice's type unlike against Onix, and that Pikachu faught Regice fresh rather than tired.

The episode is pretty good, I just don't like the overuse of Zugaidos. Hyouta's gym convinces me that all other gyms and fillers will have pure fanservice.

What do you mean fanservice, apparently you don't mean it in the normal sense? And how is Zugaidos overused? Its Hyouta's strongest pokemon and his signature pokemon, and it got to battle in both episodes just like Onix. Hardly enough to be called overused.

Meh, the animation in D/P isn't getting any better. I'd just wish they'd quit using the same ones over and higher the good old ones. :/

This is about as good as the animation in the main series gets, I don't get how you didn't notice that.

[Magical Needle Smash]

For those wondering about Aipom going first: While thinking about how to deal with Zugaidosu's speed and Headbutts, Satoshi chose Aipom hoping to use its movements to confuse the enemy.

Considering it knows Double Team and all, I don't think it was necessarily a bad idea.

[S.Suikun]

Meh, the animation in D/P isn't getting any better. I'd just wish they'd quit using the same ones over and higher the good old ones. :/

Seriously? Especially when compared to last week's and next week's episode (seriously, just compare the detail, fluidness, proportions, and CG), the animation in this was superb. Really, when talking about the digital animation age of Pocket Monsters, this is about as good as it gets. (Okay, I suppose you could make a case for the episodes Tokuda did in Hoenn, but he's long gone now, sadly.)

-DP 16 should have it's title changed to "Takeshi teaches Hikari!" most of the episode was pretty much Brock and Hikari.

I didn't really notice the lecture stuff occur much more than how Brock usually comments during a gym or contest.

[CyberCubed]

Eh, Brock isn't any different than he was in AG.

He's still dead weight. Its amazing that Brock gets really awesome episodes from time to time (the one where Bonsly evolved, the Pewter Gym ep in Battle Frontier, his Contest episode), but then after his spotlight eps he goes back to the same boring rut he's been in for years.

The writers know how to make Brock really great when they try, but then they continue to ignore him in every episode that doesn't focus on him.

[Umi Mizuno]

What do you mean fanservice, apparently you don't mean it in the normal sense? And how is Zugaidos overused? Its Hyouta's strongest pokemon and his signature pokemon, and it got to battle in both episodes just like Onix. Hardly enough to be called overused.

If you watch the episode closely, you'll notice that there is A LOT of fanservice. And yes, I mean it in normal sense. Mostly for fangirls though, unless you count all the times where Hikari doesn't look like she's wearing panties and her bare lower body is sitting on the bench.

Get this, I know it's his signature pokemon, but don't usually gym leaders save their signature pokemon for last? Hyouta should have more than a Geodude, an Onix, and a Zugaidos. Though the battle was good, I'll give it that. :O

This is about as good as the animation in the main series gets, I don't get how you didn't notice that.

I realize that, I'm saying that though this is the best there is, it's pretty crappy compared with AG wouldn't you agree?

Seriously? Especially when compared to last week's and next week's episode (seriously, just compare the detail, fluidness, proportions, and CG), the animation in this was superb. Really, when talking about the digital animation age of Pocket Monsters, this is about as good as it gets. (Okay, I suppose you could make a case for the episodes Tokuda did in Hoenn, but he's long gone now, sadly.)

The animation in this episode was good, but guess what animator is up next? The one that did the DP 4. Eeew.

I didn't really notice the lecture stuff occur much more than how Brock usually comments during a gym or contest.

Brock was lecturing Hikari the entire time, since gym battles are different than contests.

[S.Suikun]

Get this, I know it's his signature pokemon, but don't usually gym leaders save their signature pokemon for last?

Well, Winona used Altaria first. Besides, I suppose it makes things a little less redundant from the previous episode by switching up the order (though it's still redundant, since the Pokemon are the same). And my sanity was spared yet another Geodude appearance (though it will no doubt appear in the rematch).

I realize that, I'm saying that though this is the best there is, it's pretty crappy compared with AG wouldn't you agree?

Eh...not really. AG had its share of crappily-animated episodes (Groudon vs. Kyogre Part 2 = Most hideous episode in Pocket Monsters history), and it's not like Iwane's quality has really decreased. On the whole between all the animation teams, however, I would agree that the animation quality has become less consistant ever since the first half of AG or so.

The animation in this episode was good, but guess what animator is up next? The one that did the DP 4. Eeew.

Yeah, EWW. Kind of a shame, as the next episode looks to be pretty good.

[Umi Mizuno]

Well, Winona used Altaria first. Besides, I suppose it makes things a little less redundant from the previous episode by switching up the order (though it's still redundant, since the Pokemon are the same). And my sanity was spared yet another Geodude appearance (though it will no doubt appear in the rematch).

Well there's 2 more episodes at Hyouta's gym, we'll probably see more of his Pokemon.

Eh...not really. AG had its share of crappily-animated episodes (Groudon vs. Kyogre Part 2 = Most hideous episode in Pocket Monsters history). On the whole between all the animation teams, however, I would agree that the animation quality has become less consistant ever since the first half of AG or so.

But you have to admit, animation in DP 1 > AG 1

Yeah, EWW. Kind of a shame, as the next episode looks to be pretty good.

Exactly, why do the crappy animators come to animate the episodes so often?

[Korobooshi Kojiro]

Lol, I'm not really an Animation *****, I'll be happy as long as it's not as bad and errata filled as the Kanto 4 episode....

[CyberCubed]

We do get the lesser animation teams more frequently now, we have since BF, and its a shame.

Back in Hoenn the episodes looked really nice, I never even recall being an animation ***** until "Judgement Day" came out which looked horrid. From there onward I studied the animation in each episode.

[SOS! Its Not Healthy..]

I saw the pictures first then the actual episode itself, and it did hit me until I get to about page 7 or 8 on the pictures when I saw that, yep Ash ain't winning, and the poor Pokemon choice. BUt actually, the episode was not bad at all, although I laughed of how Hikari got mad over Shinji. I find it funny how she doesn't like him much like Ash, but more of a comical sense.

Another laughter one was when Mukkubird did not get picked to battle, poor bird.

And it was nice, Team Rocket with the reseacher which gives a taste with the next episode is going to be.

The battle itself, it was pretty good. I was upset when I saw the pictures how it turned out, but as I seen the episode myself, I could see why Ash lost. And Hyouta for one thing is not an idiot, because in his part, I would bet he would not want to lose twice in the row, which it was nice in the side of him to use Zugaidosu first, his strongest one. The little critter beat Aipom badly, and nearly took down PIkachu, but finally Naetoru beat it.

And I wasn't too surprised for Pikachu losing to an Onix, and wow, that got to hurt with the ears and the hits it took from the final blow. Ouch, and Shinji looks like he called him useless or something at the end. Speaking of that, for one thing, I hope Ash steps his game up and stop worrying about Shinji's performance and attitude. I think its having a lot to do with his performace of why he lost.

[Somorio]

Exactly, why do the crappy animators come to animate the episodes so often?

well think of it this way when you see an episode with great animation it makes it even more of an outstanding special episode.

you gotta have the bad with the good. get it.

ps. wow its been a long time since i posted here

[Geodude]

Why are you guys even talking about bad animation when this episode didn't have any? Can we please have an episode discussion thread that actually discusses the episode instead of going into this constant boring, off-topic crap about animation debates and AG vs DP debates?

[Scorpi13]

Hey wut website do you go to to watch the episodes